A False Copy
by Naomi334
Summary: When Kaito decided to go out that day, one thing he wasn't prepared for was a giggling Tantei-kun. And how'd he find out his identity? What the heck was going on?
1. The Damn Squirt

I mean, it wasn't as if Kaito hadn't just wanted to enjoy his hot chocolate and cake in peace or anything. No - he'd walked out especially to a certain cafe for his snack, not because he was especially pleased at finally developing a new version of his knock-out gas, but because he _wanted_ to be interrupted by the least likely person he'd expected to see all the way out in Ekoda.

"Hey there, mister! I'm not from round here, could you point me to the nearest park? I said I'd meet someone there..."

The thickly laid-on 'innocent-child' façade had become normal for Kaito, having listened in on Conan's conversations with adults more often than he probably should have, but he wasn't quite used to it being used on him. As soon as he heard it, his first instinct was to throw a smoke bomb and get out of there as quickly as possible (he wasn't scared, he was just cautious, okay?), but he knew that that would only reveal to the detective exactly who he was and what his real face looked like - not exactly ideal. Onto plan B.

"Look, kid, I've gotta go meet someone soon so I can't come with you. Go ask someone else, okay?" Kaito nervously excused himself from the task. Going anywhere with _Tantei-kun_ of all people was out of the question.

"But," the small child tried again, "I really want you to show me to the park. No one else can show me, I'm too scared of strangers!"

"If you hadn't noticed, I _am_ a stranger to you so..."

"But, Kid-san-"

Kaito stood up from where he was sitting in the cafe. The cutlery on the table clanged against his plate of half-finished chocolate cake, alerting those around them in a five-foot radius of the commotion.

Looking around with calculating eyes, judging the best course of action, he grabbed Conan's wrist and dragged him away. Somehow an amount of ¥460 appeared on the table as they were leaving - the exact price of Kaito's food.

"Kid-san, where are you taking me?"

The voice annoyed Kaito to the maximum. Normally, Tantei-kun wouldn't bother with it when just around him: instead taking up the sarcastic and generally unimpressed persona of Kudo Shinichi (unless you mentioned Sherlock Holmes - then you would find an excited fanboy with glittering eyes praising the existence of Arthur Conan Doyle, something which cracked up Kaito to no end). The fact that he was using the voice now seemed like he was mocking the thief; it was as if he was arrogantly showing off his ability to finally find out and locate the civilian identity of the Magician in the Moonlight.

Once they were on a fairly deserted street that Kaito was comfortable, he turned to his companion, not letting go of his wrist, "What the heck is up with you, Meitantei?" He glared at Conan, whose innocent smile just kept on adding to his annoyance, "And how'd you find out who I was?"

Conan laughed happily, "Ooo~! I get to use an idiom that's actually literally true!" Okay, now this was getting over the top for even _Conan's_ acting. What was going on? "Hey, hey, Kid-san! You know what? A little birdie told me." The boy _giggled_. He GIGGLED. Kudo Shinichi does _not giggle._ "Well, technically the birdie told my friend who told me, but that's technicalities, you know~?"

"A...birdie...told your _friend_?"

"Yup~! Well, it was one of your doves. He says they're very polite."

"I would...uh...hope they were...?" Kaito trailed off. This can't be Tantei-kun. There was _no way_. So who was it and why were they here?

The little kid nodded firmly, "Well, it was nice to meet you, Kid-san. I'm looking foreword to your next show!" The kid turned to leave, "See ya- ow!"

Kaito had taken a tight grip on the kid's wrist. He wasn't going to let him get away _that_ easily. He was a phantom thief and he had his pride dammit!

"Who are you? Tell me you little squirt!"

The kid tried to pull away, "Aww~! You weren't meant to catch me!"

Kaito huffed in frustration. Although the little guy was pulling, he didn't seem to have any intention of leaving. The kid seemed to have him right where he wanted and it was pissing Kaito off.

"Okay. That's it! You're coming to Jii-chan's with me you damn squirt."

Frowning, Kaito dragged the kid by the wrist and out of the alley, the squirt complaining all the way. He could already feel the stares of passers by as they came out of the alley and into the streets. It was going to be a long walk to the Blue Parrot.

-xxx-

Jii nodded, "I see...you seem to have found quite the troublemaker, Botchama."

The little kid grinned and rubbed his head, "Heh...heh..."

Kaito groaned and dropped his head onto the counter, still firmly gripping the kid's wrist in case he ran away, "Arghh...! Jii-chan what do I do!"

Jii sighed, "I don't think there's much to be done. You can't hold onto him forever, after all."

 _But what if he tells people?!_ Kaito complained to himself, _What then?_ "Dammit..."

"Well, Botchama, if you want to figure out his identity, why don't you ask Saguru-kun? He's a detective after all."

 _No...the kid would blab to Hakuba, and Hakuba's an idiot enough to believe him - especially if he looks like Tantei-kun. Even if he_ did _ask someone, it's not like they'd believe it's not-_

Kaito straightened up.

"Yes! I've got it! I've gotta ask some detective, right? So why not Tantei-kun himself?!"

"The real one, Botchama?"

"Yup! All I gotta do is dress up as Meitantei then ask. Surely he'd be interested in figuring out who the squirt is! He looks just like him after all."

The kid yawned and pouted, "Stop talking like I'm not here! It's annoying~!"

"Shut up. We're going to Tantei-kun's!"

-xxx-

In the end, Kaito decided that it would be safer to avoid the Mouri Detective Agency and to first pay a visit to the mini scientist. If he'd turned up to the Mouri's being Shinichi with an added duplicate Conan he'd hate to think what Ran-san would do to him. He shuddered at the thought.

He shuddered again at the thought of arriving at the scientist's place too, but at least he wouldn't find himself face first in a wall this way...

"Ne, ne, Kid-san? Why are you going as Kudo Shinichi-kun?"

Kaito groaned and ignored his captured companion. Well, at least he knew his suspicions were correct and this was definitely not the Tantei-kun he knew. With a reluctant hand he knocked on the door. Why was he doing this again? If it was just curiosity this was very well not worth it...

The door opened to reveal the expected scientist grade schooler, wearing an expression of utter disgust, "What is it, Kid-san? And is that you, Edogawa-kun?"

"Hai!" 'Conan' greeted her with a salute, "How are you, Haibara-san?"

The girl visibly cringed and sighed, "Come inside..." She stepped back and opened to door more widely, then turned and led them in, "Close the door behind you!" She ordered as they stepped onto the mat.

When they'd been shooed onto a sofa and Proffessor Agasa had been sufficiently surprised with the appearance of two Kudos, then proceeded to be even _more_ dumbfounded at the kid's giggling (the giggling was the _worst_ ), Haibara finally asked the question: "What did you do, Kid?"

Kaito looked at her in disbelief, "Excuse me?"

The scientist sighed, "I asked what you've done to Kudo-kun. He's obviously not working right, and I'm pretty sure you're going to cut off his circulation at some point with that grip you have on him."

"I did nothing!" Kaito protested, gripping the kid's wrist even harder, "This damn chibi squirt just ran up to me and told me to take him to the park, I swear it's not the real one! He _giggled_ at me, what was I supposed to do?!"

Haibara nodded grimly, "Well, I can't blame you for getting upset at the giggling...but why would you bring him here?"

"Well I couldn't very well go to the Mouri Detective Agency, could I?" Kaito complained. Looking at the scientist's disapproving stare, those weren't the right words to say, "Arghh, could you just go call the real Tantei-kun for me? I've got to find out who this fake is and he was all I could think of!"

"I doubt Kudo-kun will be able to help you here..." Haibara mumbled to herself, "But anyway...I guess I can bring him. Wait here."

Kaito nodded. Why was this becoming so troublesome? All because some stupid kid had figured out his identity? What a joke... Oh well. What'll come is what'll come.


	2. The Fish Tank Has Broken

_Crash._

 _Bang!_

 _Shatter._

"Marry!" Came a quickly approaching yell from the other room, "Are you alright?!" Seto appeared at the door and came upon the sight of the soaking wet girl having fallen to her knees, "Marry! What happened?" His eyes drifted to the cracked, transparent pieces of glass laid out in front of her on the floor, "Oh, you...!"

"Goldfish...!"

"Wait there for a second, Marry! I'll be right back!"

Marry looked on at the currently suffocating small fish lying in front of her. She had to do something! She couldn't just let the poor animal die!

Scooping up the tiny creature, she noticed a vase on the table in front of her. It was perfect! She quickly pulled out the already wilting tulips and dropped the fish into the water. Tentatively, she peeked over the edge. He'd be alright wouldn't he...? What had Seto said his name was? Kyu?

"Hang in there, Kyu! You'll...you'll get better! I'm very, very sorry!" Marry pleaded with the floating orange animal, tears welling in her eyes.

"Marry! Here, I have some water!" Seto came rushing back in, only to find that the goldfish had since disappeared, "Oh! Well done, Marry! He should be fine in there. Don't cry, it'll be okay!"

Marry nodded at him, and looked back into the vase at the fish, "Oh! He...he moved! Kyu, are you o-okay?! I'm sorry! I'm very s-sorry! I didn't mean to drop you, I-"

 _Damn brat! Can't she get my name right?! You_ told _her my name is Kyo! And dropping me on the floor like that! Hey, you! Tell her off for me, would ya?! You have a duty to me, I almost died because of-_

"Ah, Marry, he says his name is Kyo, not Kyu..." Seto corrected her kindly.

Marry nodded, "I-I'm really very sorry, Kyo. I won't do it again!"

Seto heard the fish sigh grumpily, _She'd better never do it again! That damn clumsy brat can't do nothin' right. I saw her drop three mugs on a tray the other day:_ three _! That's a lot of mugs, you know!_

Seto nodded warily at the fish and set down the glass of water he'd hoped would be sufficient as a temporary home for it, "Come on, Marry. I think we should go buy Kyo a new fish bowl as an apology. Maybe we should get a plastic tank this time..."

"O-okay!" Marry agreed and headed off towards what Seto assumed would be the door, giving a small smile as she left.

"Better get this cleaned up first..." he mumbled to himself as he assessed the damage on the floor. Luckily, none of the glass pieces had reached the rug, so all he would need would be a cloth and a dustpan. Leaving the fish in the vase, he headed back to the kitchen, calling out to Marry as he went and saying he'd be a few minutes.

Once he heard her small "Okay!" as a reply, he fetched the things he needed and started picking up the pieces. And all the while, the fish in the vase kept on yelling at him to lecture Marry. He didn't really mind though. It seemed to have gotten a lot quieter since Kano left a few days ago, so the noise wasn't really the problem, though he _did_ wonder where he'd gone off to. It had been three days, and Kido, as much as she'd hate to admit it, was getting worried. She'd even gotten Momo to come along with her this morning, who by extension dragged out her brother. Ene, Konoha and Hibiya had gone too, leaving just him and Marry in the house on his day off. Well...he supposed _someone_ had to find Kano, though he had a slight suspicion that his disappearance had something to do with how one of the Kaitou Kid's doves had pointed out the thief's civilian persona to him the other week and he, knowing Kano's interest in the guy's heists, had in turn pointed him out to his brother.

He didn't know whether that had been a good idea.

Sighing, he got up and tossed the glass shards into the rubbish. "I'm ready to go now, Marry!" Turning back to Kyo, he grinned, "We'll get you a nice big tank for you now. Bye!"

 _You'd better get me a good tank! Make sure this one is shatter resistant next time, would ya?! That nasty brat will drop me again, I know it!_

With a small laugh back at the fish, he led Marry out of the house. For some reason this impromptu shopping trip gave him slight deja vu...

-xxx-

"Would someone care to explain why I'm seeing double?" The shrunk detective shot a glare at the impersonating thief, "No, sorry: triple."

A very unimpressed Edogawa Conan finally stood in the door. It had been quite a while, a few hours to be exact, and it was now way past midday. Kaito had drunk his way through two hot chocolates and participated in a game of UNO with the chibi scientist and the professor when they got bored of waiting. Even the squirt joined in eventually, since Kaito felt kind of bad leaving him out, even if he _was_ of the appearance of the annoying detective.

"Kudo-kun, glad you finally showed up." Haibara sounded even less impressed than Conan, "I had to beat Kid down several times whilst we waited."

"Ah, that's 'cause Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko had me stuck playing football with them, then Ran brought us back to the agency for lunch..." Conan looked at her, confused, "You...beat him...?"

"Argh! She means she beat me at UNO!" Kaito glared at the now grinning girl.

"Haibara, you played UNO with-?"

"Anyway, Kudo-kun. Kid-san here wanted you to find out who this delightful youngster is." Haibara cut him off without missing a beat.

Conan nodded slowly, "You mean the kid, I'm guessing." His eyes drifted to the radiant _thing_ on the bed. He cringed, "Don't tell me that's what I look like when I..." he trailed off, realising it was exactly what he looked like when reporting things to the police, and decided to stop thinking about it. _Argh...the things I do for cases._ He walked over to his doppelganger, hands firmly in his trouser pockets and began inspecting it for discrepancies, but the only thing that seemed to be different was their clothing: he being in a shirt, jacket and trousers, and the copy being in his usual, more iconic outfit of a blazer, bow tie and shorts.

Kid watched him carefully, "You got anything, Meitantei? I checked him over when I first saw him, but I couldn't see anything wrong..."

"Ah! This is my jacket and my bow tie!" Conan suddenly yelled, immediately taking the items off of his double, who immediately started wrestling him for the jacket.

"That's mine!" The kid reclaimed the jacket and slid it back on his shoulders.

Conan frowned, "No, it's... Nevermind that, where'd you get this?" He fiddled with the dials on the bow tie and tested it. Finding it worked, he turned to the professor "Oi, Hakase! Did you make an extra voice-changer bow tie? Now there's two." He pulled a second bow tie, his normal bow tie, from his pocket.

"Well...I always have a spare, but it should be..." Agasa moved over to his desk and began opening drawers. It took about four before he produced a third bow tie, "Its right here!"

"Ooo~! You have a voice-changing bow tie? So _that's_ what it does. I thought it was weirdly mechanical! That's so cool!" Kaito could almost imagine emoticons appearing next to the kid's face. This particular emotion he imagined would be something like ヽ(^o^)丿.

"Are you sure there weren't any other copies of the tie?" Conan asked.

Agasa shook his head. Haibara sighed, "Usually even you aren't so dumb to break two in one day. A third isn't needed."

Conan gave a small grumble before going back to his inspection, "Oi, oi... This guy's got my belt too! Where'd you get all this, kid?"

"Huh~? Aren't you a kid as well?" The kid asked Σ(-᷅_-᷄๑)-ly.

"Yes, of course I am, so where'd you get this stuff?" Conan dismissed the comment and moved on in his inquiries.

The doppelganger shrugged, "I dunno! I just have them. Ne, ne! What does the belt do? It's gotta be something cool, right?"

 _Bzzt bzzt. Bzzt bzzt._

Conan immediately grabbed the ringing mobile from the kid's pocket before he could react. As he futilely protested whilst being held back by Kaito who'd grabbed onto him to keep him in place, Conan gave the thief a grin and accepted the call.

"Hello?"

He had to hold the phone back away from his head as the phone erupted with noise, "KANO! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? We've been looking for ages, and Danchou is so worried! I mean, I know she hasn't said much, but it's really obvious, you know? Where are you? We've looked at the park, in town, the school...ne, Kano, you've not gone out of town have you? You didn't go somewhere really far off, did you? Seto said you might've gone looking for the Kaitou Kid since he told you what he looked like... It's been-"

Suddenly the highly energetic voice was cut off and replaced by a faint argument. From what he could tell, there was someone else who had wrestled the phone off of the girl and taken responsibility for it, thank god. But what was that about Kaitou Kid...?

"Hello? Kano? Could you just tell us where you are? I've got something I wanted to record-"

Another girl's voice cut in with perfect clarity. It was as if she wasn't on the other side of the phone line at all... "Oh ho ho~! You don't mean _that_ do you, master?" The smug tone almost made Conan shiver. The girl sounded like she was impersonating a maid from some really bad maid cafe...

"Ene! What're you doing on Onee-chan's-"

"Well, obviously she's more fun than _you'll_ ever be! Plus, I get to listen in on phone calls. So, Kano, can you just tell us where you are? It's been quite boring searching for you."

Finally, there was a break in the speech. Conan hadn't been able to fit a word in at all...

"Ah...this isn't Kano, but we'd like you to come and pick him up please..."

"Sure thing!" The girl with the uncanny ability to bypass the phone connection's interference, Ene he presumed, told him happily.

"Right..." Conan sighed. This girl seemed to be way too accepting of circumstances, "We're in Beika. District 2, Block 22."

"Okay! Did you hear that, master?"

"Yes, I heard! We'll get there as soon as we can. Thanks, uhh..."

"I'm Edogawa Conan."

"Well, thanks I guess, Edogawa-kun."

"Alright, I'll see you later then."

"Right."

Shintaro pressed the end call button. "Kano found the 'Kid Killer'." He informed the people surrounding him.

"What?!" Momo yelled, "Do you think he found Kid?"

"He probably tried...I'm very sorry." Seto apologised for the fourth time. He was carrying a fairly large box with a fish tank label, having run into Shintaro and Momo on Marry and his way back from the shops. Marry was currently examining the orange fish displayed on the side of the box.

"We'd better ring Danchou!" Momo grabbed her phone from Shintaro's hands and went to the contact page before stopping in surprise. "Oh. Ene's gone..."

Shintaro sighed, "I hope she hasn't planned on doing anything bad..."

-xxx-

Hey guys who're reading this! Just a short note from me to say that I've made this into a three-shot, since the ideas I had for the rest of the story kinda took up too much space... But yeah, expect another chapter at some point! And, to Teal96ko, I hope Shintaro was to your liking :D.

Thanks for reading!

Naomi xxx


	3. Let's Play Cheat!

Conan shot straight up as soon as he heard the doorbell half an hour later. Kid had taken out one of his probably many packs of cards he used for ammunition in his gun and called everyone for a game of Cheat. Needless to say, Kid's 'poker face' was impeccable, only to be rivalled by Haibara, whose unwavering gaze didn't move an inch with each word she spoke. Conan himself had been called out surprisingly early, followed closely and frequently by the professor. However, the Conan duplicate had been uncannily unfazed when he'd been called, almost as if he'd expected it and not hidden his change in expression on purpose. He remained creepily innocent and playful all the while.

The card game had, however, brought about many an interesting comment, mostly due to the duplicate's insistant pestering of the Phantom Thief. Conan had never thought he'd see the thief annoyed, what with that annoying smirk constantly plastered on his face, but he was pretty sure the whole room had had enough by the time they were finished...

 _The duplicate's turn came around, "Ne, ne, Kid-san. Why'd you steal your jewels? There's gotta be some reason right? Three fours."_

 _Kid ignored him, instead looking at Haibara to prompt her in placing down cards._

 _"A five." Haibara complied._

 _"Ne, ne, Kid-san. Why did you dress as Kudo Shinichi from the news when you came here?"_

 _"A four." Came the reply._

 _"Kid-saan~, why does everyone call the Kid Killer 'Kudo'? It's weird to call people by someone else's name..."_

 _Conan sighed, feeling slightly sorry for the thief, "Why would you ask_ him _that? Two threes."_

 _"Cheat." The duplicate's grin grew, "Well why don't_ you _answer then, Kudo-_ senpai _?" At Conan's raised eyebrow he continued, "Well, you were the one imitating Edogawa Conan first, weren't you? It's only right that you'd be my senior." The duplicate's face turned to challenging, and Conan could swear he'd seen his eyes flicker red for a second._

 _Shaking off his uneasy feeling, he reluctantly turned over the cards he'd just put down, revealing a three and a seven, "You know, I think we might need a longer chat even after your guardians come for you..." he put the cards on the table into his hand and grimaced at them before sighing, "Four queens..."_

 _"Heh...'guardians'..." he heard the duplicate whisper to himself as he turned back to Kid, "Ne~, Kid-san-."_

 _"What?" Kid's face turned to glower at the duplicate._

 _"Ah, Kid-san, I was just wondering what 'Pandora' is, is all~! Apparently one of your doves was talking to my friend about it. Something about im-" he was cut off with a puff of pink smoke, soon revealing him to be handcuffed and shut up with a piece of tape around his mouth._

 _"That's better." Kid nodded, turning back to his cards, "Now-"_

 _"Kid-san, you didn't answer my question..."_

 _Everyone in the room turned suddenly towards the previously bound child now sitting free with the most innocent and disappointed look on his face._

 _"You- How...?" Kid stuttered, "I-I checked they were on, you can't just...!"_

 _The duplicate smiled again, "It's because I have the perfect disguise, Kid san~!"_

 _"Ah," the professor interrupted, probably not really paying attention for his own sanity, something which Conan wasn't sure he still had himself at this point, "two kings."_

 _Conan raised his eyebrow another time. There wasn't enough clues in the mystery, the child was a perfect copy, excluding his attitude. Kid had gone back to subtly glaring at the duplicate every so often, and Haibara and the professor had simply restarted playing the game. He couldn't understand what was going on with the duplicate, and that wasn't something he experienced often — it seemed to be nothing short of, well,_ magic _, but Conan was a firm denier of such superstitions. He sighed once again and made a sideways glance at his imposter. On with the game, he supposed..._

-xxx-

"Hurry up, Kudo, we haven't got all day."

Kaito glanced at the mini scientist. So even _she_ was getting annoyed. Thankfully the squirt had stopped going on about his personal secrets a while ago, so he didn't have as short a fuse as he had earlier, but he had to wonder where he'd gotten the information. He'd said it was from his friend who could talk to doves, but that was stupid, right? _Maybe I should've talked to Akako about this...or not. Nope, nope, never going to her for things...dispel the thought._ He felt himself shiver.

-xxx-

Akako sneezed as she waited behind a bush near the professor's house.

"Akako-sama! Are you feeling well?" Her faithful servant asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine...so be quiet!" she peeked out of her hiding spot. She was wearing normal everyday clothes as she'd passed the strange group as she was out shopping with Aoko and Keiko. Sensing they each held some power in them, but not being able to identify the source of such powers, she felt it would be safest to follow them. Quickly excusing herself from her friends' company she'd hurried after them, her servant who always seemed to follow her tracing her steps and catching up to her outside the Kudos' residence. She recalled it as being the home of the detective who'd once shot at Kid, and had noted it for...reasons. However, the group didn't head to the abandoned mansion: they headed to the next door home, one she knew the boy dubbed as 'Kid Killer' frequently visited. That was also something she'd noted for...other reasons.

"But why would they go to meet Conan Edogawa..." she muttered to herself.

"Akako-sama, you seem a bit pale."

The witch closed her eyes and let out a noise of frustration.

Maybe she should stay a bit longer.

-xxx-

Shaking the thought of his more than strange classmate from his mind, Kaito observed the teens who'd just stepped into the house: the first being a green-haired girl sporting a purple MP3 player style hoodie and a woried expression on her face.

"Ah, umm...excuse me, I'm Kido, Kano's sister. Is Kano in here?" Her slightly deeper than average voice displayed her anxiety clearly, somehow seeming out of character for her laid back appearance, Kaito noted.

Kaito grinned widely as he lifted the small imposter by his shirt, "If by Kano you mean this squirt then of course~! We'll be glad to be rid of him."

The girl — Kido — seemed surprised for a second as she surveyed the two duplicates, the group behind her seeming momentarily confused as well. But all at once looks of realisation dawned on their faces.

"Kano? You disguised as the _Kid Killer_?" A voice emanating from the dark haired teen who'd entered second asked — someone on the phone to him? Kaito could only really guess why. The guy quickly pulled out some headphones and plugged them into the phone, probably ending the call as well.

Now that all of the members of the group had entered the room, he could see just how odd of a group they were. For starters, their ages ranged from about 19 all the way down to a 12 year old boy who looked very reluctant to be present, every so often glaring at an orange haired girl who was holding his arm — perhaps, he supposed, to prevent escape. A young girl of maybe 14 rested sleepily on the back of a guy clad in a green hoodie, whilst the eldest looking of the group stood at the back — by far the oddest member with his albino white hair and red eyes, his outfit reminiscent of a gaming character.

His eyes kept on returning to the ginger girl, wondering if he'd seen her somewhere before. Her eyes seemed to be tinted slightly red the more he looked at them which he found unsettling. More unsettling, however, was the calculating, yet dull gaze the guy now presumably listening to music on his phone was surveying him with. Though his expression was that of someone bored and waiting to get home, Kaito felt as though he was under suspicion...

"Heh, it was fun~!" The squirt broke his thought.

Kaito had only blinked and his weight had gotten heavier. Surprised, he dropped the kid, only to realise it...wasn't a kid anymore? The 'squirt' had evolved into a blond-haired teenager with a brown hoodie and a grin as wide as a Cheshire's, "Umm...I..." The great Phantom Thief Kid was at a loss for words. Magic? Maybe he _should_ have— _nope! Nopedy nope!_ You can never trust a witch.

"For goodness' sake, Kano! You should know better than to just run off!" Kido huffed, "Let's get going. I'm very sorry about this." She turned to the professor, him probably seeming the most adult-like in the room.

"Oh no! Not at all!" Agasa quickly replied.

Kano meanwhile set an eery grin on his face, "Aww~ Kido! You _do_ care!"

"Let's get going." Kido turned and grabbed the blonde, dragging him out of the door.

The rest of the odd group started to make their way after Kido and the brightly waving Kano, but Red Jacket lingered behind so he was last out.

"Ah!" Conan suddenly exclaimed next to him, "I know where she's from!" He looked up at Red Jacket, "You know a pop idol, huh? Lucky you."

The guy shrugged, "She's my sister actually, but that's not what I was going to say." He adressed the room, "I know one of you is Kaito Kid. I won't say I'm a massive fan like Kano, but I was just going to reassure you that no one but Kano knows who you are, nor will he disclose it to anyone, stupid as he is." He sighed, "Also, umm...I was thinking you should know about the weirdo stalkers outside. Seto kinda said they mentioned Conan, and they don't exactly look like nice people. I mean one looked like a _troll_ Hibiya said so..." he held up a hand, "Bye."

He turned to go and suddenly winced as a muffled noise erupted from his headphones. His expression then changed to one of horror as he yelled at it, "NO! We are LEAVING! What-! I- You know-!" He paused for a second before a defeated and quite scared look crossed his face.

As quick as he could, he unplugged his headphones and presented the screen to them. It showed a series of apps with a blue haired girl lazing about on top of them. When the phone turned, her face immediately went from smug and cocky to wide eyed excitement, "Kaito Kid! I know who you are! I'm a massive fan, I've read all the articles on you you're amazing!" The girl looked over at Conan, "AND YOU little boy are also amazing! It's so cool how you're friends with _the_ Kaito Kid even though you're always trying to catch him! That's so awesome!" She beamed, "Okay, Master! Your files are safe." She grinned evilly, "For now..."

For some reason, Kaito felt like becoming friends with this girl, or even hanging out with her, wouldn't be recommended.

"Oh my...! Is that an AI? A _true_ AI?" Haibara's eyes gleamed excitedly. Wow. _That_ was a rarity.

The girl saluted, "That's me! The one and only Ene! And well...sort of. You can't really replicate me. I'm kinda one of a kind."

"I, ah, think we should go catch up with the others." Red Jacket turned abruptly, "And go check those stalkers. Bye."

Kaito held up a half wave as the now stiff Red Jacket guy walked out of the door and off to the rest of his group waiting by the gate, "Well...that's sorted now?"

Conan shook his head then turned to look at him, "Nope! You're going to catch the stalkers they were talking about!" He grinned.

"What- Why me?"

"Because you owe me now. Plus, what're we going to do? We're only little kids." Conan smiled his gaze reflecting all the fake innocence he had.

-xxx-

Hello again! Sorry for the wait but I hope it was worth it. I'm not going to give excuses, we've probably all already read and/or enough fanfiction to know that writing takes time which most people lack and motivation which people also lack at times to know where the heck I was. Answer: not being motivated.

Anyways a few facts: firstly the 666th word is ' _she'_ relating to Haibara ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ make of that what you will.

Second, for those of you who've never played Cheat, imma teach you an awesome card game:

• Everyone is dealt cards until they're all given out.

• Players, starting with the left of the dealer, then place cards face down in the centre of the table. They can play up to four cards, but they all must be of the same number. The cards must be the same, one above or one below the previous card placed down; obviously for the first person placing a card this doesn't matter. When you place down a card the player must declare what they just put down. For example: 'One five' or 'Three Aces'.

• Whenever you want to in the game, you're allowed to cheat. This could be anything from putting down cards with numbers contradictory to what you say or placing five cards down at the same time. However, if anyone says 'cheat' before the next players turn, the cards of the player who just declared their cards will be overturned. If this player cheated, they must take all of the cards in the centre and play is resumed from the left of the cheater. If they didn't cheat, the person who said 'cheat' must take all of the cards in the centre and play is resumed from the left of them.

• The game continues until one player gets rid of all of their cards.

You're welcome, my readers! Have a nice day and look forward to the next and probably final chapter. XD


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